Storystorm 2019 Day 13: Ashley Franklin Loses the Muse

If inspiration is all around us, why does it sometimes feel as if our muse is on vacation—basking in the sun and living the good life while we’re struggling to settle into our creative groove?

Without our muse to guide the way, we are destined to be adrift in a sea of uncertainty headed towards a creative abyss, right? Wrong!

I want to let you in on a little secret. Are you ready for it? Here it is: You don’t need a muse!

There won’t be an “aha moment” around every corner. There may not be an aura surrounding your next big idea. If you want access to a constant source of inspiration, look no further than yourself. All you need is your inspiration tool box.

My inspiration tool box helps me to generate ideas at any stage of the writing process. What’s great about it is that it only consists of three things: eyesight, insight, and hindsight.

Eyesight
Take a look around. Your home, job, and favorite hangout spots are waiting to be mined for story ideas. Get your axe and get picking!

Insight
Take a long, hard look at something—anything. Take a closer look at it then you normally would. Involve your senses. Take note of how it looks, smells, feels, tastes, sounds. There’s more depth involved in insight than eyesight. Consider your emotional response to what you’re observing. Experience the object of your focus.

Hindsight
You can’t change the past, but you can sure draw some inspiration from it. What made your heart skip a beat when you were younger? What is the most cherished memory of your recent past? Who or what have been most important to you and why? Think about some of your first experiences and the way they made you feel.

You can use all three tools at once, or you can pick and choose. For my picture book debut, NOT QUITE SNOW WHITE, I used a combination of the three to come up with the idea. Here’s how I used my inspiration tool box:

Eyesight:

Q: What do I see a lot of?
A: Princesses. They’re everywhere and on everything.

Insight:

Q: What’s common about the princesses?
A: Most of them are White. There’s not much variation. They’re all “perfect” according to today’s standards.

Q: What made me happy as a kid?
A: Barbies. Mom made a point to buy me POC Barbies. I had tons.

Q: How do I feel about that?
A: Back then, the dolls made me happy. They were my favorite. Now, I realize they helped me feel seen (which was especially important because I attended predominantly White schools).

As you can see, I always begin with questions. Personally, I find that beginning with questions helps me to focus my ideas.

Armed with the thoughts gifted to me by my tool box, I decided that I wanted to write an African-American princess story. Many wretched and promising drafts later (thanks, revision!), I came up with Tameika’s story.

I’m happy to introduce to you, my Storystorm family, the cover of NOT QUITE SNOW WHITE:

:

Ashley Franklin is an African-American writer, mother, and adjunct college professor. Ashley received her M.A. from the University of Delaware in English Literature, where she reaffirmed her love of writing but realized she had NO IDEA what she wanted to do about it.

Ashley currently resides in Arkansas with her family. Her debut picture book, NOT QUITE SNOW WHITE, will be published July 9, 2019 by HarperCollins. The idea for the book originated from a former Storystorm (then PiBoIdMo) challenge. For more information on Ashley, you can visit her website: ashleyfranklinwrites.com.

This is a great idea. It gets yourself talking about ideas and really thinking about them. I haven’t done that too often. I really like your concept for the book. It looks like a great read. I will be looking out for it! Congratulations on your debut.

Thanks so much for sharing how you came up with your idea for Not Quite Snow White. I’m definitely going to try this process to get some new ideas. And congratulations on your debut! I’m going to watch for it.

Congrats on your upcoming release! I think your toolbox (and it’s three components) is one of the most valuable pieces of info yet. You just put the power in our hands, the writer. We don’t need to sit around and wait for inspiration, we have it… it’s just all about perspective!

Great idea to incorporate what you see, what yiu feel, and what you’ve learned. I do this when teaching my high school students and it is a really effective way to help them connect their writing to their world. I like how you narrowed it down to 3 easy to understand components. Thanks for the great post!

I like the start-with-a-question approach to the toolbox idea. I’ve used the “What if…” question, but yours are just as useful, and easier to answer! Good post. Congratulations and good luck with the new book.

What a fresh way to look at story idea generation, Ashley! Thanks for “eyesight, insight, hindsight.” I’m going to use this process to develop ideas I already have on my list — the ones I think have a nugget of worth, but I haven’t figured out where they should go.

Ashley, thank you for the pointers. I have always found that the muse strikes when least convenient (driving, falling asleep, waking up, etc). NOT when I have time to and sit down to write. So I really appreciate your advise to grab a tool (eyesight, insight, and hindsight) from our always-ready tool box. (And I love the three sights – I’m an eye doctor!) I also received a great Christmas present from a writing friend that has proven both relaxing and helpful: A mainly blank book with 300 writing prompts for writers. Thank you again, and I hope to win the critique (or the PBs!), but even if I don’t, I thank you for the helpful insights! Sarah

This is wonderful — what a unique and inviting twist on a princess. LOVE it — so fresh! Good luck with this. And love the tool box. I use mine all the time and am thankful for this invitation to sharpen my tools!

Thank you for sharing your story about NOT QUITE SNOW WHITE and how it came to be. Good luck on the upcoming release.
And the technique of using eyesight, insight, and hindsight are a wonderful addition to this writer’s toolbox. Great suggestions!

Thank you for sharing the three sights in your your tool box and your productive approach to using them. I’m looking forward to trying your technique. Congratulations on your debut PB, which sounds wonderful!

Brilliant and much needed book! I’ll be thinking about this title all day and smiling. I have a MS about a princess with anxiety, and have received mixed feedback. One agent said she loved the concept but they had recently signed an author with a similar book. A second said he was good with the princess, but the topic was too dark. (That was the day I realized just how subjective this business is.) Can’t wait yo rot request that our local library add Not Quite Snow White to the shelves.

Thanks for this post and giving me permission to throw away the muse idea. I don’t have a muse and sort of felt like something was wrong with my writing because I never have a muse. I absolutely agree with this article and its simple idea of eyesight, insight, and hindsight.
This looks to be a great book and I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.

Ohmygoodness Ashley! Tameika is beautiful! Can’t wait to read her story. I woke up this morning to drifts of perfect white snow anxious to dig into my Storystorm and found your gem of a not quite snow white. Taking notes and ready to use my three tools too!

Great post, Ashley!! Thank you for giving us a peek behind the writing of your book, Not Quite Snow White. Love your inspiration tool box idea… my muse is always splitting for Cancun and drinking margaritas while ogling the cabana boys so your tool box will come in handy

I loved reading your bio, Ashley! I also love your Tool Box idea! I need to work on my hindsight as to how I felt about things as a child. I find myself remembering my daughter’s trials and tribulations – but I would need to get inside her head more to pull out her child feelings.

Hi Ashley, I LOVE the title of your new picture book. I also think your formula for losing the muse and using eyesight, insight, and hindsight is sheer magic! Thank you for the generous giveaways and for participating in Storystorm!

I love this post. It reminds me that a thunderbolt idea isn’t going to hit me while I am knitting (ok, most likely it won’t, but you never can give up hope). Thanks for the extra tools I need while waiting for that elusive bolt to arrive.

Ashely, thank you for sharing your insights into idea generation and the story behind your story. I love fairy tale retellings and I can’t wait to read your version of Snow White. You’re an inspiration!

Thank you so much for this post, Ashley! After the first days of Storystorm flooding me with really good ideas and outlines, apparently my muse took a sabbatical. Thinking about your inspirational post opened a new path to ideas! Now I’m off to add to my idea notebook. Thanks! 😊

Congratulations on your book launch and your ideas. I think each of our own perspectives on an idea is different. I have a story to tell on one of my first experiences and you’ve given me an idea to plot it out. Thanks.

Congrats on your book. Many times we think our childhood was boring and who would want to read about it. However, we have many incidents that stand out and children now could still relate. Thanks for the reminder. Luck in the future. 🙂

Congratulations on your book “Not Quite Snow White”. I love the cover. Thanks for the reminder that no matter how boring our past life seemed, we have valuable things to draw from that are relatable now days.

First, Congratulations on your debut picture book (no small feat)! It’s inspiring to know it came out of this challenge. Your tool box is simple and elegant. I especially appreciated you demonstrating how it worked to create your debut. May it be the first of many.

Ashley! This is such a great post. I must memorize your advice about using eyesight, insight, and hindsight. I am so excited about NOT QUITE SNOW WHITE, and I’m dancing a virtual happy dance with you for this fantastic cover.

First – congrats Ms Franklin!
Second – did you have pictures in your head when you wrote and revised?
Third – do you ever revise the question or is it always tweaking the story?
Fourth – thank you for sharing your time and talent.

What a great post. I’ve been jotting down ideas all morning after reading your post. I really appreciated your example of how you applied “Sight, Insight and Hindsight” and how that related to your new book (which I’m excited to read). Thanks so much!

Ashley, I LOVE this: What’s great about it is that it only consists of three things: eyesight, insight, and hindsight. Printing out the 3 to put SOMEwhere around my desk, so thank you for that! And I can’t wait to read NOT QUITE SNOW WHITE–marked my calendar! What a great result from Storystorm and your method 😀

Congratulations on your PB debut!! That’s so exciting and your cover art is fantastic! I think that the story is an awesome idea and can’t wait until it comes out. Also-thanks for your insight on asking the question that could find a new angle to a story. Very helpful 😊

Wow, what a fantastic post-great process, and thank you so much for sharing it in such a concise way. I echo the many congrats on this wonderful picture book-this will keep a smile on my face the rest of the day!

I think that the hindsight is the best part. It can be difficult to see the day to day since it is normal to us. Being from Alaska, when I visit elsewhere, people can be “Wow!” Now Alaska makes me wow too, but for different reasons.
Switching perspective is likely another tool in your box. I see it closely aligned to “insight”, but insight is self reflection, rather than empathic.
Congrats on your book, it is very insightful.

Oooo! I like the idea of merging the three. Taking details from the here and now would give some depth to the fragments of hindsight. What a great way to take half-remembered stories and bring them to life. Thank you, Ashley, and congrats on your debut! It’s refreshing to raise a daughter in the age of quirky princesses.

Thank you Ashley for your eyesight, insight and hindsight! As a POC I looked and still look to see diverse books on the shelf. I can’t wait to read your story and share it with my Not Quite Snow White princesses.

Ashley, I love the idea of the toolbox coming with all the necessary tools intact and ready to go – a welcomed idea! Congratulations on your picture book! It sounds great and is certainly based upon an important need for recognition that goes unrecognized in most Princess stories.

This is awesome, Ashley! So important to remember that writing is more about showing up ready to work moments than moments of muse inspiration! And congratulations on your new book! So happy for you. Patti Richards

Congratulations on your debut book!! How exciting is that! I love hearing the stories of people who have previously participated in this wonderful group and are getting published. It gives great hope. I love your post too – the three ‘sights’ – and realise now I need to trust my instincts more. Thank you.

I love the concept of a toolbox that can be used anytime, for any type of story. And it’s incredibly helpful to think in terms of insight and hindsight. Congratulations, Ashley, on your debut picture book!

ASHLEY: I CAN’T WAIT to read your book! The cover alone melted my heart. Once again, knowing that a picture book is being published after the author received the idea during StoryStorm–SO INSPIRING!!!! I LOVE the idea of being our own muse, asking ourselves questions (sometimes tough ones) to generate ideas. WONDERFUL!!! THANK YOU, and CONGRATS!!!

Congrats on NOT QUITE SNOW WHITE! I’m a firm believer that you can’t wait for inspiration, you have to work for it. I love those three words you gave us as tools and I’m gonna jot them down near today’s idea.

Congratulations on your debut picture book. I like the three buzz words: eyesight, insight, hindsight. Definitely useful tools! Thank you for sharing your thought process for coming up with the idea for your story.

So important for kids to feel seen. AND to question why things are or aren’t a certain way. Why we see a lot of something and nothing of another, and how we can possibly do something about it. Thanks for the insight! I won’t sit around waiting for that pesky muse.

Thank you for the inspiration. Tara, I hope you are aware of what an incredible blessing storystorm is for us. I’m sure I‘m not the only one who is so incredibly inspired and has enough material to mine for months. Last year was my first year, and it exceeded my expectations. An illustrator, who believed since I was a child, that I would never have good ideas for stories, am now bursting with stories that I never knew were inside me. No one else has ever given me a gift like this. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

How did you know that all weekend my creativity slumped? Feeling like my “muse” left the building like Elvis, I told myself I was empty of ideas even though I now have 14 Storystorm index cards notated. What kind of author am I if I can work with words but have no meaningful message within the rhythms of my stories?
Then I read your post. TAH-DAH! I DON’T NEED A MUSE. I have HOPE for myself again.
I can’t wait to read NOT QUITE SNOW WHITE. Congratulations on your PB! When I taught public school in Detroit, Michigan, I had such a time finding stories that mirrored my students. SNOWY DAY could only go so far. Keep writing, Ashley. You are truly inspiring.

Thank you for sharing your inspiration tool box with us! I love this practical approach to generating ideas. I’m usually too impatient to wait around for my muse anyway, so this is great! Congratulations on Not Quite Snow White! I look forward to reading it.

The fact the you pointed out how you ASK QUESTIONS is such a big deal. For those of us who have trouble clarifying (motivation, goals for the main character…), beginning with these questions can help us to start drafts off on a stronger foot. That’s one of my goals for the year. Also, I love the premise of your debut. Really looking forward to reading it!

Ashley, your book looks darling! I’ve never heard another writer talk about the role of dolls in her life—thanks for that “hindsight” piece. My soon to be released Button and Bundle (Knopf) has at its heart my experiences with my first friend and our dolls. The story is in part about the central role dolls play in the imaginative life and friendship of two little girls (one white, one black), and how their worlds are shaken when one must move away. (Their dolls are best friends too, and after the move one won’t play anymore. Button’s sadness is projected onto her doll.) With imagination and love, Button finds a way to honor and continue their world of play and learns that together or apart, friendship is forever.
I’m looking forward to adding your book to what I hope will be a collection of stories that have childhood dolls at their hearts. I’d love to hear suggestions from all you story stormera out there.

Ashley, your toolbox and your questioning process have kicked my brain into first gear. I’ve already put down three new ideas. I can’t wait to read NOT QUITE SNOW WHITE. It will be fun reading it and thinking how you moved through your process writing it. Much success to you!

America is a land abounding with racial diversity. Even those of us who are raised white aren’t always truly white. Only in my 40s did I begin exploring my Native American ancestry, studying the Cherokee language and learning about the culture — past and present. So, I really like the concept you came up with for the picture book, Ashley. The cover is so appealing. –Kim

Thank you, Ashley, for sharing your process behind the idea for NOT QUITE SNOW WHITE. Congratulations on your debut! Love the concept of starting with a question, then using our toolbox of sights to spark our own internal muse. No outside knock on the head needed.

This is an excellent thought exercise for the ole toolbox. I haven’t tried it on for myself yet, but I just noted it in my Storystorm journal as a reminder when I get stuck later this month. Thank you, Ashley!

THANK YOU! This article came at just the right time. I was struggling with coming up with another PB idea for this challenge. And when I read Ashley’s 3 basic suggestions, I thought about them a lot. As a result, I may not have a GEM of an idea, but I DO have a GERM of an idea. Thank you, Ashley.

What a beautiful story within a story! I love your idea about not having to have a muse show up!! We wait and wait and often times it’s right there in front of us! Thank you for sharing your lovely story!

I like your idea of an inspiration toolbox and you made it easy to think about with the three tools of eyesight, insight, and hindsight. Thanks for sharing how you applied it to your new picture book & congratulations!

Ashley, I am so so excited to read your upcoming book and to buy it for all my favorite little girls that need more princesses and characters that look like them. Watch out Tiana and Doc McStuffins! I also am grateful for your idea generations tips — what a fun way to approach brainstorming. Best of luck with your upcoming release!

I’ve marked this blog to go back to again and again (this is my second visit!) I love the way you’ve broken it down to eyesight, insight and hindsight and I can really use the suggestions for applying each one. Thanks so much.